Chelsea Manning blasts Trump announcement on transgender military members as 'cowardice'

The most famous transgender woman to serve in the US military is
decrying President Donald Trump's tweets announcing his plan to
ban transgender people from the military "in any capacity."

Chelsea Manning, who
came out as transgender a day after being sentenced to jail
for leaking hundreds of thousands of classified military
documents to WikiLeaks, called Trump's announcement "cowardice"
on Twitter.

On Wednesday, Trump
tweeted that "after consultation with my Generals and
military experts, please be advised that the United States
Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to
serve in any capacity in the US Military."

He then went on to explain the decision by saying that the
military could not be "burdened with the tremendous medical costs
and disruption" that transgender people would allegedly bring.
Conservatives have
frequently argued that healthcare like hormone therapy and
gender reassignment surgery are too costly to provide to active
service members.

Manning, who went through her own
protracted legal battles to receive hormone drugs while in
prison, called out Trump's statement in tweets of her own.

"So, biggest baddest most $$ military on earth cries about a few
trans people but funds the F-35?," tweeted Manning, referring to
the
$400 billion fighter jet program. "Sounds like cowardice."

so, biggest baddest most $$ military on earth cries about a few trans people 😩 but funds the F-35? 😑 sounds like cowardice 😎💕🌈 #WeGotThis

The American Civil Liberties Union, which worked with Manning
during her time in prison, also sent a statement to Business
Insider calling Trump's announcement "outrageous and desperate."

"This has been studied
extensively, and the consensus is clear: There are no cost or
military readiness drawbacks associated with allowing trans
people to fight for their country," said Joshua Block, an ACLU
senior staff attorney who represented transgender clients in the
past.

Manning was released from prison in May. During the seven years
she was locked up, Manning was seen as a hero by some and as a
traitor by others. Born as Bradley Manning, she elevated
discussion on LGBT rights in the military after her struggles
with gender identity came to light in the midst of the WikiLeaks
scandal.